Book Review: "The First To Lie" By Hank Phillippi Ryan

If you could relive your adult life would you?

Would you incorporate lies, deceit, trickery to accomplish such an action to make others believe in a fallacy, a false sense of self, a mirage?

Hank Phillippi Ryan is an author I was introduced to during a book tour and I've never stopped loving her work from that moment on.

I enjoy reading her work because it's always thrilling and enticing and makes you think inwardly not outwardly and this one does all three. 

This was full of a whole host of characters on purpose so it's draining at times to keep them all in sink but journaling keeps them in check.

With this noted, The First to Lie was a richly written and drama filled intense heated situation about women's rights and medicine especially women's rights to give birth.

I don't want to give too much but this Pharminex company was more about profit than people ( a familiar train of thought today) and it seemed that those who took the medication had several unsuspecting side effects.

So many people are out for their own agendas - a grieving widow, a wealthy daughter, a reporter in the mix, a glam gal wannabe...so who will be the first to lie?

It's fast paced, heated, and full of twists so stay on your toes while reading...
If I may digress this reminds me of a conversation I had with a high school acquaintance that I lost touch with until our career paths brought us together. 
At one point we parted ways and during a discussion online we said things that were quite eye opening. We later came back together to a point of insight in which we wanted the same things but our lives were dramatically different because of medical issues on both ends. 

While I was able to have kids (albeit with complications as all high risk pregnancies to myself and my babies) she was unable to have kids and adopted her own baby (a puppy dog just this past month.)
While my kids are all set to graduate in a year's time her puppy will no longer be tiny but more full grown.

I bring this up because I used to envy her lifestyle travelling abroad, dressing in beautiful evening gowns, living the lap of luxury. While she secretly did the same with me knowing I had a husband at the time, three children I was raising, and a title of MOTHER which is the greatest job in the world but the least paid and the most unappreciated by today's standards.

This is similar in that train of thought that many of us want similar but sadly can't all obtain the exact same in being a parent and have to find alternatives. Infertility is a growing problem and this story builds upon that issue and in many cases desperation.

Sometimes we choose wisely; sometimes we don't;sometimes things happen beyond our control.

The entire Vanderwald family was quite their own madness built from within their own confines but add to it the rest of this plot and you have yourself one heck of a read on your hands.

While not delving too deep into the muddy waters (no pun intended) to Trevor I will note this story was truly chilling as many of the characters went to extreme actions to accomplish a mission.

Risking lives and limbs this was a hairy situation all around and had me palpitating by the end.

Thank you to Hank Philllipi Ryan, the pub, NetGalley, and Kindle for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.